AWOLs at War
by Won'tforgetcanregret
Summary: Suspense. Betrayal. Violence. The Great AWOL Snowball Fight. Set sometime after Unsouled, it snows at Sonia's house and the former Whollies have their first taste of winter freedom. (Also features Grace)


**Yesterday I finished Unsouled and it was snowing so this image of our favorite dorks having a snowball fight popped into my head. Hope you like it!**

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It was snowing in Akron, Ohio, and the former AWOLs were celebrating their first winter free. Sonia was taking the girls ice skating, since neither Risa nor Grace had ever been. The boys had quickly gotten bored with sledding, and Connor was the first to suggest a snowball fight.  
Lev shakes his head. "Capture the Flag snowball fight. Even better. It's basically a free-for-all, but if you take five hits or your flag is stolen you're done."  
Hayden has one condition. "Winner gets to pick today's movie."  
"Oh, now it's on." Connor glares at Hayden. "If you think I'm going to let you pick Sharknado _again_..."  
"Seriously, you've got to be almost out of jokes about Roland's arm by now," Lev adds.  
Hayden feigns offense. "You underestimate me, Lev Garrity. My well of inspiration is as deep as the ocean from which the unfortunate marine tattoo sprung."  
"You have 30 seconds, funny boy," Connor straightfaces back at him. "Better start running."  
Hayden doesn't need to be told twice. He takes off for a copse of trees, stumbling every few steps in the deep snow.  
"You gonna run, too?" Connor asks Lev.  
"I could do that, or we could team up and take Sarcastic Wonder out."  
"As long as you promise to never call him that in person, I'm all for it."  
"You're right, it'd be a compliment to him." As he spoke, Lev scanned the area for an ideal base. "Behind the tool shed, do you think?"  
"Long enough to strategize, sure."  
They scramble behind the wooden shack, checking every minute or so for surprise attacks.  
Connor begins to develop a plan. "We could come at him from behind. There're so many ways to enter that area that he won't be able to defend them all."  
"Or I can play bait. He doesn't know for sure I'm on your side, so I could draw him out and hold him off until you come at him from behind," Lev suggests.  
"Dude, I'm not just gonna sacrifice you like that."  
"You're forgetting a couple of things, Lassiter. One, I played baseball for half my life, and I was good, too. I can throw, I promise. Two, one time I turned my blood explosive and almost blew myself up. Snowballs aren't exactly terrifying anymore."  
Connor realizes there's no use in arguing, so he nods. "Let's head out."  
The plan goes off perfectly. They work their way across no man's land, making short dashes between areas that can conceal them, then split up.  
"Hayden," Lev calls, when he catches sight of a figure in the forest. The boy turns to fight, thinking it'll be easy enough to take out the younger kid alone. He's sorely mistaken. Connor jumps out from the cover of a tree, landing directly behind him.  
"Nice socks," he quips, and the barrage begins. Hayden runs, dodging between trees and occasionally flinging a snowball back at his pursuers. His accuracy is deadly, but Connor is as aggressive as Lev is quick, and Hayden is done for in a matter of minutes. His flag, a dark red scarf, is victoriously removed from a branch.  
"Yes! We got him!" Connor whirls around to share his victory with Lev, but the younger boy is nowhere to be seen. _He didn't... _But sure enough, when he escapes the trees, the first thing he sees is a flash of overlong blond hair bobbing towards Connor's base. Connor curses under his breath and sprints as fast as he can in heavy boots. Just before he gets to the shed, he drops behind a hedge. Lev, tempting fate, obviously hasn't simply grabbed Connor's flag. He wants a fight, and Connor is totally fine with that. He throws caution to the wind, trusts his instincts, and charges around the corner. He's about to launch his first snowball at Lev, when suddenly a machine whirs to life behind the cover of Sonia's car.

He's a split second too late to react, because at the exact moment he registers the contraption Risa is wheeling out as a snowblower, he is hit full in the face by a deluge of snow. He splutters helplessly until Risa graciously lowers the spray. Lev attempts to make his escape amid the chaos, but Risa merely turns the snowblower at him. He flails backward, trips, and ends up practically buried.

Risa laughs. "I'd say that looks like at least 5 snowballs, wouldn't you, Grace?"  
"Definitely," Grace confirms, stepping out from the cover of the garage. "Told you they'd never expect that."  
"The victory's all yours."  
"How'd you guys even find out what was going on?" Lev asks, as he struggles to his feet.  
"Hayden. He told us when we got back."  
At that precise moment, the offending party waltzes out of the house carrying a mug of hot chocolate.  
"UPCHURCH, YOU TRAITOR," Connor yells.  
Hayden grins and takes a sip. "I work for myself, and myself alone. And if we want to get technical, Lev betrayed you first."  
"God, I'm surrounded by a bunch of backstabbers."  
"Hardly anything new," Risa points out. "At least it's not literal this time."  
"Can I pick a movie now?" Grace interrupts.  
"Pick something good," Connor pleads. "Not like this loser."  
He gestures at Hayden, whose trademark smirk is now at full power. "Oh please, you really though I was going to pick Sharknado again? Please, I'm classier than that, I was going for Jaws this time." Connor flips him the finger with the shark-tattooed arm. Hayden returns the gesture like a salute, and Lev can no longer restrain from cracking up.  
Five minutes later, now relatively warm and dry, they all huddle on the couch watching the opening scenes of Gettysburg, a movie Grace claims pays due attention to war strategy. For once, they aren't worried about their safety, about whether they will be alive and whole tomorrow, about Juvie Cops or parts pirates or rebellions from within. They can start to relearn what it's like to be normal.

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**I feel like the formatting got really odd, but oh well. If you liked it, please review :D**


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